How's the bite at El Dorado Lake today? Biting — save your energy for the evening.

Questions people ask about El Dorado Lake

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for El Dorado Lake.

Is it worth fishing El Dorado Lake today?

6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 4:14 AM–6:14 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend.

What time should you fish El Dorado Lake?

Today's major windows run 4:14 AM–6:14 AM and 4:45 PM–6:45 PM, with minor windows at 12:35 PM–1:35 PM and 9:59 PM–10:59 PM. Sunrise is 7:50 AM and sunset 6:30 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.

What is the water temperature at El Dorado Lake?

No gauge on El Dorado Lake measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 68.7°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KEQA (El Dorado Captain Jack Thomas Airport). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.

Can you eat the fish you catch in El Dorado Lake?

That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Kansas Department of Health and Environment publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where advisories are named per waterbody, alongside a general mercury caution. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

KDHE fish consumption advisory

Do you need a licence to fish El Dorado Lake?

Yes. A Kansas fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. KDWP sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a Kansas license costs, and who is exempt

What size fish can you keep in Kansas?

It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish, walleye, sauger and saugeye. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Channel catfish limits · Blue catfish limits · Flathead catfish limits · Walleye, sauger and saugeye limits · Check a length against the rules